ASHTEAD COMMON, SURREY, ENGLAND
ROMAN VILLA AND BATH HOUSE

Ashtead Common has a
subsoil of heavy clay and is unsuitable for farming.
However the clay will make good tiles and bricks. The
remains of the pits from which the clay was dug in
Roman times can still be seen on the Common.

Ashtead Villa (L) was probably the centre of a small
tile and brick making business. The manager and his
family lived in the villa while the baths (R), about
130 ft from the house, were used by the workers.
Local historians have traced the line of a by-road of
Roman origin linking the site with the nearby Stane
Street (London-Chichester road).

The model is housed at the
Leatherhead and District Local History Museum where
examples of tiles and other Roman artefacts are also
on display.

Model created by A.A.Tuffery, 1992 Photo by
John Wettern, 2001, courtesy of Leatherhead and District
Local History Society. Excavations carried out in 1926-27 by
A.W.G.Lowther.